I thought I throw in some backing for adding some DIR configuration to your current diving.
My experience was that the hardest part of fundies is the most basic skills: namely, maintaining trim and bouyancy while task loaded. It is not so much the S-drills,valve drills and bag shooting, but pure basic skills that need to become absolutely second nature so you can do other things. If you can start diving a BP/W and practice the different kicks such that you can maneuver comfortably in any direction while maintaining trim and depth, you are 80% there and you would be in great shape for the class. The s-drills, valve drills and bag shooting for practice when someone more experienced can give you meaningful feedback.
Also, regarding experienced DIR people diving with novices. The reason I took the fundamentals class is that as a new diver, it was often the case that there were one or two GUE divers on the boat. These people were some of the most generous, unassuming and encouraging divers I have come across; always willing to help out, answer questions and explain the reason behind any particular choice without ever really mentioning DIR or GUE. It was their obvious level of comfort in and out of the water that encouraged me towards their rig and their way to dive. It has been my experience that DIR divers want to help other people towards a DIR setup, not because they want to preach the _way_ but because we want to have more people around that are team aware and that are comfortable enough to be of help if a problem arises.
So, if you are interested in team diving, go ahead and orient your equipment configuration towards DIR, then take fundies and dive as close to what you have learned as your local conditions/local buddies allow and answer patiently any questions about why you do what you do. Whether you eventually manage to do DIR dives or not, you would have learned a lot and will have even more fun.
